The third season of the American serial drama television seriesLost commenced airing in the United States and Canada on October 4, 2006 and concluded on May 23, 2007. The third season continues the stories of a group of over 40 people who have been stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific, after their airplane crashed 68 days prior to the beginning of the season. In the Lost universe, the season takes place from November 28 to December 21, 2004. The producers have stated that as the first season is about introducing the survivors and the second season is about the hatch, the third season is about the Others, a group of mysterious island inhabitants. In response to fan complaints about scheduling in the previous seasons, ABC decided to air the episodes without reruns, albeit in two separate blocks. In the United States, the first block consisted of six episodes aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm and after a twelve-week break, the season continued with the remaining 16 episodes at 10:00 pm. In addition, three clip-shows recapped previous events on the show. "Lost: A Tale of Survival" aired a week before the season premiere, "Lost Survivor Guide" aired before the seventh episode and "Lost: The Answers" aired before the season finale. Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the season under the title Lost: The Complete Third Season – The Unexplored Experience on December 11, 2007 in Region 1 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
The season featured 16 major roles with star billing, making it the second largest ensemble cast of the 2006–2007 television season, behind ABC's Desperate Housewives. Characters are briefly summarized and ordered by billing and number of third season appearances.
The first block of episodes was criticized for raising too many mysteries and not providing enough answers. Complaints were also made about the limited screen-time for many of the main characters in the first block. Locke, played by Terry O'Quinn, who had tied for the highest second-season episode count, appeared in only 14 of the 23 episodes in the third season – only two more than guest star M.C. Gainey, who played Tom. Reaction to two new characters, Nikki and Paulo, was generally negative, with Lindelof even acknowledging that the couple was "universally despised" by fans. The decision to split the season and the American timeslot switch after the hiatus were also criticized. Cuse acknowledged that "No one was happy with the six-episode run." The second block of episodes was critically acclaimed however, with the crew dealing with problems from the first block. More answers were written into the show and Nikki and Paulo were killed off. It was also announced that the series would end three seasons after the third season, which Cuse hoped would tell the audience that the writers knew where the story was going.
The season averaged 13.74 million American viewers per episode, ranking 17th in viewership and ninth in the key adults 18–49 demographic. The first block had an average close to four million more viewers than the second block, with the 14th episode meeting a ratings low for the series, with 11.52 million viewers. However, Lost was the most recorded program of 2007.
Episodes
The number in the "No. in series" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "Featured character" refers to the character, whose back story is featured in the episode's flashbacks. "U.S. viewers " refers to the number of viewers in the United States in millions who watched the episode as it was aired.
